"IRI data shows that plant-based foods are in over half of US households, so we know people are interested in making more plant-based choices throughout the day," said Krystle Turnbull, product manager for Green Garden.

Whether a hot condiment such as Tabasco, sriracha, or gochujang gets folded into the coating for hot and “sexy” chips or into a newly crafted fiery dip, or if the goal is a dressing, a splash, or a pour of flavorful expression, condiments are trending big.

Eight in 10 Americans say they have altered their food habits as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, per the International Food Information Council’s [IFIC’s] 2020 Food and Health Survey. Six in 10 consumers say they are cooking more at home—the single biggest change in behavior and one that sounds bullish for sauce, dressing, condiment, and spread makers.

Slowly but surely, as we emerge from the pandemic there is no doubt that consumers will return to want new experiences and will be more open to experimentation. Sauces, spreads, dips, and marinades are some of the best categories to bridge the gap from comfort to innovation and from ubiquity to uniqueness.

As part of CP Kelco's growing network of innovation and technical support facilities around the world, we recently launched our newest global innovation center in Atlanta.

Prepared Foods talks with Chef Emily Cruz, director of sales & marketing at CuliNex, Seattle-based a consultancy to brand owners, food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, boards and commissions. A Seattle native, Cruz joined CuliNex in 2011 as a contractor and was promoted to a full-time “Culinologist” in 2013.

Six months into a global pandemic and safe-at-home quarantine orders, most Americans have dropped travel plans and dramatically reduced away-from-home dining. However, their culinary wanderlust is stronger than ever, judging by regional and global flavors that are still taking off on restaurant menus.

With flavor being the product of a complicated, multilayered collection of ingredients and chemical compounds that interact as aromas and individual flavor notes in synchronicity, the task of masking one specific flavor note can be difficult. A greater challenge for today’s processors is that the technique applied must be low-cost, allergen-free, and naturally derived (clean-label), and the result must survive processing.

Plant-based milk alternatives have been around for many decades. Primarily, they’ve come in the form of soy and almond milks and have been mostly consumed by a “crunchy” crowd of consumers. In the past few years, however, retailers and restaurants alike have seen a swift rise in nut milks, coconut milk and most recently, oat milk. These growing options are all tied into greater consumer demand for plant-based alternatives.